Rahman unhappy with use of 'Jai Ho' in poll campaign

Chennai, Music maestro A.R. Rahman, whose compositions in "Slumdog Millionaire" made him the first Indian to win twin Oscars, is critical of political parties using for a poll campaign the song "Jai Ho" that he composed for Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches drama.
"I was like in the bed, I was dehydrated, exhausted, and then all these things happened, somebody told me these people are using it. I hate politics. I just want people to serve the people. I want governments, whichever government comes in, to be unbiased and say there should be justice in the country and that's my purpose in life," Rahman said in an interview on CNN's Talk Asia. The interview will be aired on CNN May 20 and there will repeat telecasts May 21 and May 23. The Congress had bought exclusive rights to the song "Jai Ho" for its poll campaign but the jingle was later dropped as the party's theme song. In the interview, the shy composer also explains how his accolades for "Slumdog Millionaire" are also a recognition for India. "I got very emotional when saying this is for India, when you guys truly deserve it because there are so many different film industries in India, so many different markets, Hindi film industry, Tamil film industry, Malayalam, then Bengali, so in a way I think it culminates all their aspirations and so it's here," he said. Before he shot to stardom with the film "Roja", Rahman used to create radio jingles. He has since collaborated with international music superstars like Michael Jackson and Kylie Minogue. When asked about his next project post-Oscars, he said: "I have a couple of offers from Hollywood. Pure American movies which I thought for the heck of it let's do it and a couple of other surprises that you'll know very soon if it works out. Big surprises I think."

Catch me if you can, says ‘richest’ candidate

In a strange move to raise doubts over the honesty of the political class, a candidate from South Chennai, J. Mohanraj, declared that he had Rs 1,977 crore in deposits, making him the richest contestant in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Son of a veteran freedom fighter and Congressman from Tamil Nadu, 57-year-old Mohanraj, is representing the Jebamani Janata Party, an unrecognised party.
He told on Monday, “If what the top political leaders have declared as their assets are correct, then mine is also correct. I will say all my assets are in a Swiss bank and if you bring back black money, my name will also be in that list,” he said.
He termed his move as a “patriotic duty” to show how the leaders were “making a mockery” of the Supreme Court judgment and violating all electoral norms.
Mohanraj, however, said he had Rs 2,000 in cash, four acres of land at Oothukottai village, 50 km from Chennai, seven acres in the same village in his wife’s name and 35 gold sovereigns his wife possessed which was now worth Rs 3.50 lakh.
Besides, he owns an apartment worth Rs 10 lakh in the city. But it is hypothecated to a bank for a loan. He said if only the Returning Officer had seen this entry, he should have had doubts over his cash deposits elsewhere.